The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may or may not constitute prior art.
For example, integrating a transmission power inverter module (TPIM) into a transmission requires the establishment of a totally dry cavity. Moreover, such a cavity must be vented because of pressure variations in the transmission housing due to temperature differences. However, the presence of water in a liquid or steam state in the cavity would be incompatible with the function and operation of the TPIM. Conventional vents may prevent water in liquid form from entering the TPIM cavity, however, such vents cannot prevent water in steam form from entering the TPIM cavity.
One known vent solution uses a Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane to protect the cavity from water. Disadvantageously, this conventional vent assembly has a direct path for water to accumulate on top of the PTFE membrane and freeze from uncontrolled water in engine compartment. The PTFE membrane cannot breathe if covered with ice. While current transmission vent assemblies achieve their intended purpose, the need for new and improved vent assembly configurations which prevent water from accumulating on the vent is ongoing. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a transmission vent assembly having improved packaging while providing improved venting capability.